ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — With a spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs hanging in the balance, No. 21/19 Griffon Football takes on Missouri Southern in the regular season finale in Joplin, Missouri at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Football (8-2, 7-2 MIAA) will grace the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac on the call. The game will air on KFEQ - AM 680 and the KFEQ Live Stream.
The game is also available to watch for a subscription fee on the MIAA Network. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., with pregame starting at 1. Game admission and parking tickets can be found in the "Tickets" tab.
NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION THREE
School, Conference (DII Record, In-Region Record)
1. Harding - GAC (10-0, 10-0)
2. Grand Valley State - GLIAC (8-1, 6-0)
3. Pittsburg State - MIAA (9-1, 9-1)
4. Central Missouri - MIAA (9-1, 9-1)
5. Ferris State - GLIAC (7-1, 5-1 GLIAC) - 2022 National Champions
6. Ouachita Baptist - GAC (9-1, 9-1 GAC)
7. Missouri Western - MIAA (8-2, 7-2)
8. Davenport - GLIAC (8-1, 6-1)
9. Indianapolis - GLVC (8-1, 8-1) - holds Earned Access
10. Southern Arkansas - GAC (8-2, 8-2)
ABOUT WEEK 10
MWSU
When it comes to regular season wins, it does not get much bigger than last Saturday. Then-No. 23-ranked Missouri Western defeated then-No. 2 Pittsburg State 31-30 to cap a historic Senior Day at Spratt Stadium. Pitt State took a 17-10 lead into halftime, but the Griffons went on a 14-0 run in the third quarter, ignited by a 1-yard TD run by junior quarterback Reagan Jones. Freshman running back Seth Cromwell gave MWSU a 24-17 lead with an 8-yard run, his second score of the day. After Pitt tied it up six seconds into the fourth, the Griffons then chewed 8:56 minutes off the clock with an 11-play, 73-yard drive, topped off by a go-ahead TD connection of 5 yards between senior quarterback Armani Edden and junior wide receiver Jonas Bennett. After the Gorillas scored and missed a PAT, Pitt got the ball back in a 31-30 game with 3:43 to play and drove as far as the MWSU 30-yard line before the Griffon defense hunkered down.
Senior defensive lineman Dakari Streeter sacked QB Chad Dodson Jr. for a 5-yard loss, setting up back-to-back penalties on Pitt. After a rush by PSU put the Gorillas at fourth down-and-13 at the Griffon 33-yard line, the game came down to one final play. In his final play at Spratt, Streeter strip-sacked QB Ty Pennington, allowing fellow senior D-lineman CJ Ravenell to recover the ball and seal MWSU's highest win over a ranked team in program history.
MSSU
It was a tough outing for Missouri Southern (4-6, 3-6 MIAA) last Saturday at Emporia State, losing 63-28 to seal the Lions' second straight loss. Southern tried to make it close early, coming within seven points at 14-7 when sophomore quarterback Luke Sampson hit David Bethune for a 26-yard TD strike. The Hornets went into halftime up 42-7, scoring 21 points in each quarter. The Hornets out-possessed the Lions, winning the time-of-possession battle 40:33-19:27. Southern gave up 795 yards to Emporia's offense, the second most in the MIAA this season. Emporia's nine touchdowns scored vs. MSSU are also the second most in a single game this season in the conference.
PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Tyler Fenwick is currently 8-2 with MWSU and 61-50 overall as a head coach. During his first run with MWSU as offensive coordinator from 2007-12, the Griffons went 3-3 vs. MSSU, averaging 25.3 points per game.
In his fourth season with MSSU, Atiba Bradley is 12-21 as a Lion. Since taking over in 2020, Bradley is 0-2 vs. MWSU and 0-1 when the Griffons travel to Joplin. Missouri Western beat MSSU 45-28 on Oct. 30, 2021, in Joplin.
Quarterbacks
Edden played a complete game vs. the Gorillas, completing 16-of-23 passes for 195 yards and a score while running for 41 more yards on a season-high 12 carries. The senior's 5-yard TD throw to Bennett proved to be the go-ahead score. With a completion percentage of 67.1, Edden is now fourth in the MIAA. He also cracked the 2,000-yard mark passing-wise, sitting sixth in the conference with 2,053 passing yards.
Sampson is one of the top quarterbacks in the league this fall, throwing the fourth-most TD passes in the MIAA with 21 under his belt. The sophomore is also fourth with 2,140 yards, but he is 10th with a clip of 58.8%. Ironically, Sampson had a clean game on Saturday at Emporia, completing 22-of-35 passes for career-highs of 315 yards and three scores. He also has the fourth-least number of picks in the MIAA, only throwing six so far this season.
QB STATS VS. OPPONENT
- Reagan Jones: 2-0 starting record | 28-of-37, 76.7%, 1 TD, 0 INTs, long pass of 50 yards, 2 sacks. | Rushing: 34 attempts, 237 yards, 4 TDs, long rush of 56 yards.
- Armani Edden: N/A
- Luke Sampson: 0- starting record | 12-of-20, 60%, 154 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, long pass of 36 yards, 0 sacks. | Rushing: 3 attempts, 5 yards, 0 TDs, long rush of 3 yards.
Offensive Line
The Griffons have benefited from superb offensive line play all season. Western leads the MIAA with 194.4 rushing yards per game and is 26th in the country. The Griffons also lead the MIAA with 27 rushing touchdowns and are eighth in the nation. Only giving up 13 sacks this season, the Griffons rank fifth in the conference.
Southern's O-line is also strong, giving up a league-low seven sacks this fall. However, MSSU ranks second-to-last in rushing YPG, holding an average of 117.3.
RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
By the Numbers
Heading into the 53rd matchup since 1970, MWSU leads MSSU 29-23 and has been dominant as of late. The Griffons have won nine games in a row, the longest winning streak by either team in this rivalry. Missouri Western is an even .500 when playing Southern on the road, going 13-13 when in Joplin.
Last Time Out
Western and Southern met in week nine last season, with the Griffons winning 31-27 at Spratt Stadium. Bennett went off in the run game, toting the rock 21 times for a game-high 128 yards. Jones complemented him with 78 yards and one touchdown on 17 attempts. Running back Jared Scott celebrated his birthday with two touchdowns on the ground, rushing for 63 yards.
BURIED IN THE BACKFIELD
With 82 tackles for a loss as a team, the Griffons lead the MIAA and have the seventh most in DII. Ravenell is third in the MIAA with 10.
DAKARI STREETER: CEO OF SACK NATION
As for Streeter, not only does he lead the conference with 14 TFLs, but he leads the country with 12.5 sacks, the third most by a Griffon in program history. Streeter now has 4.5 sacks in his last two games and 5.5 in his last four. He has five games with more than one sack this year.
EATING QUARTERBACKS LIKE SNACKS
The Griffons are No. 1 in the MIAA with 28 sacks, the ninth most in DII.
SPECIAL TEAMS U
After picking up a game-deciding blocked PAT vs. Pitt State thanks to junior D-lineman Brandon Johnson, MWSU now has the second-most blocked kicks in the country with eight.
GET IN THE ZONE
The Griffons still have the best red-zone defense in the MIAA, holding opponents scoreless 65.6% of the time (21-of-32), which is also 16th in DII. Missouri Western has also only given up 15 TDs in the red zone, the fewest in the conference. Meanwhile, the Griffon offense has the second-most TDs in the MIAA with 36. The Lions have given up the second-most TDs with 31 yielded this season.
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY
Nov. 11
Only a handful of games have been played on this day, but Nov. 11 holds nostalgic value for Griffon Football. The 2012 Griffs were selected No. 3 in Super Region Three, opening up the door for the greatest playoff run in program history. Missouri Western went on to make the NCAA Quarterfinals, going 2-1 in their run.
-30-
